Belmont apartment fire ruled accidental by officials

By DAN SEUFERTUnion Leader CorrespondentApril 20. 2013 3:10AMBELMONT - The man who jumped from a burning three-story building late Wednesday night has been identified but is not suspected of having had any role in starting the fire, authorities said Friday.

Fire Department Lt. Greg Bavis said Ryan LeMay, 38, was the lone person in the three-story apartment building at 149 Young Road when the fire broke out at 6:30 p.m.

LeMay, who could not be reached for comment, jumped from a second-story rear deck of the building as the fire spread, having been reportedly trapped in a room. He fell 24 feet and landed in a dump truck, Bavis said.

The cause of the fire has been determined as careless disposal of smoking materials, but LeMay is not suspected of having any connection to the smoldering materials, he said.

"The fire was accidental in nature," Bavis said.

The fire started in a second-floor egress in the wall of the building, he said.

When firefighters arrived, a first alarm was called for as fire was showing from the roof, the right side and rear of the large, four-unit apartment building with garages underneath.

A second alarm was requested and then a third alarm was called at 7:08 p.m. for additional manpower and water supply help.

Firefighters knocked down the fire on the exterior of the building and in the attic and roof areas with outside streams, and then advanced hand lines into the second and third floors to extinguish the remaining fire in the walls, floors, and attic.

The house was badly damaged, but firefighters managed to save much of it, Gilford Police Chief Stephen Carrier said.